Sprint's Touch to Take on the iPhone

Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:11AM EDT

See Comments (25)

Sprint finally unveiled the compact—and aptly named—HTC Touch this morning, a phone that looks poised to take on the iPhone as the touch-sensitive handset of the moment.

Available on November 4 for $250 with a two-year contract, the four-ounce, 3G-capable Touch comes with a nearly three-inch touch-sensitive display, as well as access to full-track music downloads and streaming video—a couple of key features lacking in the EDGE-only iPhone. Powered by the Windows Mobile 6 OS, the Touch's main screen boasts something called "TouchFlo": a 3D cube that you flick to access the phone's various functions (including Web browsing on the mobile version of Internet Explorer, Web e-mail and corporate Exchange accounts, the mobile Windows Media Player, and more).

Sounds like a potential iPhone killer on paper, but what about in practice? My old colleagues at InfoSync World had a chance in June to test-drive a generic version (but not the Sprint-branded model) of the Touch, and they came away less than convinced. Writer Philip Berne confirmed what I suspected: once you get passed the tough-to-manipulate TouchFlo cube, you're left with the standard Windows Mobile OS, which pretty much requires a stylus to operate. Anyway, I'll reserve final judgement until I've had a chance to check out Sprint's Touch myself.

Here are a few more specs to tide you over until the November 4 launch date: microSD memory expansion (up to 4GB), a two-megapixel camera, support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, and voice commands. No mention of GPS or Wi-Fi, however.

What do you think: does the Touch sound like a worthy competitor to the iPhone? Sound off!

Related:
Press release [Sprint]
Review: HTC Touch multimedia smartphone [InfoSync World]

Comments on Sprint's Touch to Take on the iPhone

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 6 Posted by captainpoopy54 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is one ugly darn phone, its no wonder sprint has been losing business.

  • 7 Posted by swede2526 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    This has the speed that Iphone lacks and the price is sweet! I'm love and will purchase this baby.

  • 8 Posted by miss_aline8 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    ok i think its so ugly and looks like the beat up trashy version of the iphone!

  • 9 Posted by xearorailmaster on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree ugly phone, people are going to want a brand they know makes good electronics (i.e apple) Not something from a phone company that runs on windows and you need (supposedly) to use a stilus for once you get past the initial screen. ive never needed a stylus since i switched to my iphone from a windows mobile phone and i will never go back to windows mobile... ever.

  • 10 Posted by docdimento on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    I had one of those rotten imoney (synomous with apple) proprietary phones and its' associated 22 page phone bill. sorry crabapples, but i like the M$ windows sprint version better AND it's auto recognize (anything) windows pc apps. YUP it's "Touch" for me!

  • 11 Posted by docdimento on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    I just called the local Sprint store and they are offering a $50 coupon and a $25 accessory coupon which makes the Touch even M O R E attractive still. Called my buddy and he said his runs circles around his girlfriends iapple. He said she was crying. Can you tell that Ms_Aline & the Xear are rotten apple geeks or what?

  • 12 Posted by retr0h on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    come on its sprint -- do they do anything right?

  • 14 Posted by luckyballa07 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    it looks cool they just need to add aload of stuff, but im not gonna lie im gonna get one it sounds better than a katana II lol

  • 16 Posted by charlie_mac2k4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'd rather have my modded iPhone anyday. It has sleek looks, a great interface, and once its jailbroken lots of cool little apps. Sure I cant edit MS Office docs on it, but as a college student, it does everything I need it to to keep me connected with the world. The screen is beautiful, and not needing a stylus is great!

  • 17 Posted by plumber_99701 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    well i want sumthing that equals up to the iphone and i dont wanna change carries. so i will wait til i feel the real deal.

  • 18 Posted by thegrandeffort on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    The AT&T Tilt seems more advanced. I dont need the keyboard, but I would rather have wifi and gps than a slightly optimized touchpad. The iphone is lame, you cannot install anything on it and it supports apple's favorite formats only, unlike a real os which can have programs installed on it to support many formats.

  • 19 Posted by a_moss3 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    The iphone is like the cheerleader I dated in high school... she had a pretty face but kind of lacked the substance to make it through a conversation. I've been running MS mobile phones since they came out, and I haven't used a stylus for 2+ years. Once you get the hang of it, no problem. If you're looking for a media player the iphone is for you, if you have work to do... maybe you need the Touch like me.

  • 20 Posted by drrekers078 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Once you get passed the..." Passed should be spelled "past". I know - English teacher. Sorry. Gail

  • 21 Posted by anticipating_blessings on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    don't buy from sprint or bell, i recently purchased from bell and the phone has NO wifi - although it said it had wifi before i purchased. if you can afford 125$+ per month on data buy this phone. if not - get a iphone.

  • 22 Posted by dbarham on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    This phone is a computer that has a wonderful touch screen. I'd recommend it to all, save the old or feeble! I bought it as a phone. Having owned it and used it for over a month, I find I bought a computer that happens to have a telephone feature. I find myself using the old laptop less and less - unless I have a lenghty paper/email to type. --dan

  • 23 Posted by lilyshopeatchoclate on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    This phone is the pits! Too many glitches in it and Sprint says that they will be getting software for the Sprint TV to work but they don't know when it will be available. I had 3 of these phones and it's a piece of crap! I was a new customer of Sprints and I canceled services with them and I have the HTC 8925 with another company which is a really good phone! I would not recommend anyone investing in the Touch phone!

  • 24 Posted by quikflag on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a touch and it is worlds apart from the GSM version. HTC and Sprint modded the Windows GUI to be more finger friendly and it is not sluggish unless your doing some crazy multimedia stuff.

  • 25 Posted by suprajeffy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    the data network for the 8gb iphone is embarassing, this phone looks great and sprint data is way faster

More Posts: First Prev 1 2 Next Last

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.